Adele Broadbent's Blog, page 232
August 10, 2016
Tiger Days and the Secret Cat
IR – LEA
Author – Sarah Lean
Age – 6+
Tiger is going to stay with her Gran whose name is May Days. Tiger is a little nervous about it, but when a zoo keeper friend of Gran’s drops by with a baby warthog to look after, Tiger begins to settle in. Before long she and a boy from next door (staying with his grandfather) are best of friends. Gran has given them the important job of naming and then training the warthog, helping with her feeding etc.
All the while as Tiger settles in, a white cat is watching on. Can you train a cat too?
Tiger names the baby Monday and the white cat Holly. Monday is soon is very attached to Tiger and follows her everywhere. But what will happen when the zookeeper comes back?
This is the first in a sweet series for young animal lovers. Black and white illustrations and footprints are scattered throughout the story.
(Series, Cat, Warthog, Animals, Grandparent, Animal training)
Toad Delight
ER – GLE
Author – Morris Gleitzman
Age – 8+
Limpy is a cane-toad. A very sensitive, thoughtful cane-toad. He visits his flat rellies on the road every day and stacks others in piles. His family ask him why he bothers. Limpy is determined to prove to humans that cane-toads aren’t as awful as people believe. He’s hoping that one day they won’t be just road-kill or something to stomp on or hit with a cricket bat!
His cousin Goliath is also a problem. He’s huge, fat, ugly and greedy. If cane-toads weren’t so greedy, maybe humans would see another side of them?When Goliath falls in love with Penny (a child’s backpack shaped like a penguin), they are soon thrown into an adventure together. A trip to the city, a TV show and maybe a chance to show humans how lovable they really are. Or not. Little do they know it might be a cooking show – with them in the pan!
With a touch of an environmental theme, a love story that goes haywire and a funny adventure, Toad Heaven is the latest story in the Toad series.
(Humour, Animals, Adventure, Series, Environment)
A Message to the Sea
(Not in Napier/Taradale Libraries)
Author – Alex Shearer
Age – 9+
It hadn’t occurred to Tom Pellow before, but when he heard a song on the radio, ‘Message in a bottle,’ he thought it might be a fun idea to send a message out into the world. He put his email on the bottom, just in case someone somewhere exotic did find it and want to write back.
Waiting was the hardest part, but when his own bottle came back with a message, he was excited, amazed and a little bit scared. Could it be real or was someone pulling a nasty trick on him? Who would joke about the loss of his dad at sea a year before?
Putting his fear aside, Tom sends another message and discovers the impossible. But who could he tell and would they believe him?
This was a beautifully written, simple story about loss, grief and hope.
(Loss, Grief, Sea, Ocean, Hope, Wonder, Miracle)
August 8, 2016
The Crooked Sixpence (1) The Uncommoners
ER – BEL
Author – Jennifer Bell
Age – 9+
The world of Lundinor that has been built by this author is exceptionally clever. A touch of Diagon Alley, a touch of magic and lots of wonder.
Imagine holding a belt above your head and it lifting you up and over things. Instead of a bell ringing as an alarm, it yells out to you who is coming. A lemon squeezer is a light, wallpaper makes origami shapes out of itself, and a button in your pocket can make you feel better when ill. These are all available in the markets of Lundinor – underneath London and only open 3 times a year to Uncommoners. No money changing hands – just trading of uncommon objects.
Uncommoners live among us and like to trade and collect uncommon things. Bags can help you travel between places, but if you’re not careful and don’t follow the Lundinor laws, you may find yourself on the end of an underguard toilet brush (which is a tazer in disguise.)
But amongst this wonder, there is evil lurking ready to rise again. Will Ivy (11) and her brother Seb (14) be able to help granma remember her time in Lundinor, and will they be able to save their parents from a banished, murderous group of Lundinor’s called the Dirge?
Fantastically imaginative with some scary stuff too!
(Fantasy, Mystery, Evil, Werewolf, Courage, Initiative, Action)
July 31, 2016
Pocket Pirates (2) The Great Drain Escape
IND – MOU
Author/Illusrator – Chris Mould
Age – 5+
On a shelf in a little junk shop is a bottle. Inside the bottle is a ship – a pirate ship. On that ship live four pirates and their cat called Jones. This series follows their adventures.
Button is hungry. They haven’t properly eaten for days after the owner of the shop moved his dog’s basket ride underneath their shelf, preventing Button and his shipmates from their usual food foraging. Button decides he’s going to find some breakfast before the others wake up, and while the dog sleeps, he is soon on his way.
The others are soon awake and worried about him and they risk being the dog’s breakfast as they go after Button.
Outside is a scary place and when it begins to rain they are swept into a smelly, dark, scary drain. How are they going to get home again?
They have to face giant cockroaches, hungry rats, and a huge floating poo!
This the 2nd in this series that can be read out of order. Packed with adventures and Chris Mould’s funny b&w illustrations adding to the story, it would make a great read-aloud. Each book has a taster of another story in the series at the back.
(Pirates, Fear, Insects, Cockroaches, Adventure, Series, Bravery, Read-aloud, third person)
July 29, 2016
Booked
TEEN ALE
Author – Kwame Alexander
Age – 10+
Nick lives and breathes football/soccer. His best friend Coby is even more soccer mad. Nick’s Dad is a linguistics professor and his mum an ex renowned horse trainer. Nick and his mum are close but Nick resents his dad’s insistence on reading a dictionary he has written, made up of strange or complicate words. Dad believes an extended vocab will help him through school, uni and beyond. When Mum says she’s going back to horse training but has to move to Kentucky, Nick is devastated. How could they do this to him?
But with the help of his ex-rapper school librarian, his mates and the girl he likes at school, Nick comes to terms with the changes in his life – and despite his resistance, words and books have been a part of that journey. This is wonderfully done throughout the novel. Seamless.
The word play, beginning with the title, was fabulous in this book. Its humour, sports theme, and colourful and believable characters brought this verse novel to life.
The verses themselves were structured in all different ways which not only told the story but gave me lots of Wow moments at their cleverness.
With Nick only 12, this book can be read from 10+. I think teens will enjoy this too.
(Sport, Soccer, Football, Divorce, Growing up, Words, Books, Verse)
July 26, 2016
Flying Fergus (1) The Best Birthday Bike
Author – Chris Hoy
Illustrator – Joanna Nadin
A fast moving story about a football loving, fun kid called Fergus. He loved to cycle but he’s grown out of his bike. His birthday’s coming up and maybe, just maybe he’ll get a new bike so he can try out for the best cycle team in town – Wallace’s Winners.
He get’s a bike, but it’s far from new – it was his dad’s old bike. His Grandpa tells him that when he rides this bike, don’t backpedal. Fergus doesn’t take much notice and is super surprised when he back pedals without thinking…. he ends up somewhere magical. Or was it just a bump on his head when he fell off?
This is the 1st in a series – Looking forward to reading the next one!
(Sport, Cycling, Magic, Fantasy, Family, Determination)
July 24, 2016
Yours Sincerely, Giraffe
Author – Megumi Iwasa
Illustrated by – Jun Takabatake
Giraffe is bored, as usual. He’d love a friend to share things with. So he writes a letter and sends it as far as possible across the other side of the horizon by pelican who has begun a delivery service. When Pelican finally returns, he tells Giraffe just how far the horizon is! But he does have a letter for Giraffe. Giraffe is so exited at receiving his first ever letter. It’s from someone called Penguin, and with Pelican’s help they soon become pen pals.
Giraffe knows nothing about penguins and his letters are full of questions. What does a penguin look like? Where is a penguin’s neck? And so the letters begin to fly from horizon to horizon.
Gecko Press have found another gem – this time from Japan. This is a simple, funny story about friendship from afar. Receiving letters and having a pen pal are a lost treat in our digital world. This story shows how fun it can be!
July 21, 2016
Jessica’s Ghost
TEEN – NOR
Author – Andrew Norriss
Age- 12+
Francis doesn’t have many friends. He hides his love of designing clothes because of bullying at school and spends most of his time alone. Until he meets Jessica. Jessica quickly becomes his best friend, but Jessica isn’t normal – Jessica is a ghost. Francis’ mum can’t believe the change in her son and asks him if he could help a new kid at their school. Francis isn’t happy about it but agrees to meet ‘Andy’ at his mum’s request.
Andy is different too and despite first impressions, they too hit it off. What follows is a story of friendship, self belief, belonging and hope.
Covering child depression, bullying, and suicide (bullycide), this story is anything but depressing. Written in a clear, simplistic way, it highlights an issue that is all-encompassing for the young person going through it, but gives hope and understanding to it.
I’m putting this in my group of wonderful books like Wonder and My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece.
July 19, 2016
The Nest
(Not in Napier/Taradale Libraries)
Author – Kenneth Oppel
Illustrator – Jon Klassen
Age – 10+
Steve’s baby brother isn’t quite right. There is something wrong when Mum and Dad bring him home from the hospital, and he has to return for lots of tests. Steve can feel Mum and Dad’s stress and sadness and when he dreams about an angel that says she can ‘fix’ his baby brother, he tells them about it.
It upsets his mum, so he decides to keep his dreams to himself. But soon they turn to nightmares and the angel turns into something else. But this frightening being says she has a solution for their family. Will Steve help or not? As he battles with his conscience about wanting a healthy baby for their family, he’s soon faced with a decision and whether he’ll keep to it.
This story reminded me of pieces of other stories I have enjoyed about sick siblings and a magical/fantasy element to their healing. If you loved A Monster Calls – Patrick Ness, The Flask – Nicky Singer, In Darkling Wood – Emma Carroll, then I’m sure you’ll like this one. It’s a little strange, a little creepy but a fabulous read. The illustrations by award winning Jon Klassen are fantastic, adding so much feeling to the words as you read. A great combination.
(Wasps, Family, Illness, OCD, Therapist, Dreamscape)
